Users continually seek increased functionality from portable electronic devices. Further, it is often desirable to integrate the capabilities and functionality of different portable devices into a single portable device, so as to eliminate the need to carry multiple devices. From a user's perspective, eliminating the need to carry multiple devices provides a significant advantage because carrying multiple devices can be cumbersome. Additional advantages that can be realized by integrating the capabilities of multiple devices into a single device include reducing costs by eliminating the need to purchase multiple devices, as well as eliminating the need to purchase and maintain separate batteries and accessories for multiple devices.
Mobile telephones are increasingly multi-function devices that can include, in addition to wireless telephony services, functions and applications commonly associated with digital music players, personal digital assistants, notebook computers, and various other devices. For example, mobile telephones often include applications for media playing, calendaring, personal information management, internet browsing, and processing emails. However, increased functionality often results in more complex devices that are more difficult to operate. For example, some multi-function devices require navigating complex menus or pressing multiple keypad entries to activate specific functions.
According to one aspect, the present invention is a method for activating a media player of a wireless communication device by determining that the wireless communication device is not operatively coupled to a network, detecting an operative coupling of a speaker system to the wireless communication device, and then activating the media player automatically in response to detecting the operative coupling of the speaker system to the wireless communication device.
According to another aspect, the present invention is a method for activating a media player of a wireless communication device by detecting operative coupling of a stereo speaker system to the wireless communication device, and then activating the media player automatically in response to detecting the operative coupling of the stereo speaker system to the wireless communication device.
Embodiments of the present invention therefore enable a media player of a wireless communication device to be activated quickly and with only a single input from a user. Operative coupling of a speaker system to a wireless communication device, such as the single action of plugging in a headset to a mobile telephone, can automatically activate a media player to provide immediate access to audio or video files. Some embodiments of the present invention further avoid delays associated with attaching a wireless communication device to a network during a conventional start up process, by activating a media player in a transmitter off mode, thus further accelerating access to the media player and conserving battery power. Still other embodiments of the present invention distinguish between operative coupling of a stereo speaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to play an audio or video file using a media player, and operative coupling of a mono speaker system, which may indicate that a user seeks to use a wireless communication mode of a wireless communication device.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.